Teaneck, Hudson Catholic, Nia Prep And Newark Eastside Walk Away With Wins In Freedom Fighters Challenge!

Paterson,N.J………..The 8th Annual Playaz Sponsored Freedom Fighters Challenge brought back some of Paterson’s favorite son’s in the 4 hot contests that were on display! In the end Teaneck, Hudson Catholic, Nia Prep and Newark Eastside walked away with wins in the showcase that honors Dr. Martin Luther King!

                               Teaneck  59            Union  49

      Sophomore Joel Hernandez led Teaneck with 15 points and 7 rebounds and Junior Chris Jones added 11 points as the Highwaymen took control early and held on throughout the contest in a 59-49 win over Union! Senior Will Thompson brought the energy early for Teaneck as his putbacks negated any Union run! Thompson finished with 9 points and 11 rebounds as the bench also was a key factor for Teaneck as Senior Donta Davis(8pts,5rebs,2blks), Senior Daquan Russ(5pts,5asts,2rebs) and Senior Anthony Upshaw(6pts,2triples) all played pivotal roles! Senior Chris Foreman led Union with 14 points as they lost the services of one of the better Sophomores in the State in 6’7 forward Tyler Roberson who had to sit the 2nd half due to an ankle sprain!  

                           Hudson Catholic  56          Kennedy  47

Sophomore’s Kavon Stewart and Reggie Cameron came back to Paterson as members of Hudson Catholic to beat Paterson Kennedy 56 – 47 in a close contest the entire way! Stewart, a native of Paterson and Cameron, who resides in Hackensack, but learned a lot of his trade through the Paterson Rec League gave them a chance to see their development! The two ex Paterson Catholic players did not disappoint as Cameron#2(pictured with Paterson Councilman Benjie Wimberley) scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and went 12 for 12 from the foul line and Stewart added 14 points, dished out 6 assists and had 5 steals to help get the Hawks the win! Hudson Catholic needed it all as Senior Dawon Lighty straight lit it up in the 1st half scoring 17 points on an assortment of jumpers!The Hawk’s Sophomore Rakwon Kelly tried to match him by scoring 14 of his 16 points in the 1st half as Hudson Catholic led 24 -23 to end the stanza! But in the 2nd half Cameron scored 19 points and Stewart added 10 to keep the pressure on Kennedy! Lighty(pictured with Wimberley) finished the contest with 22 points! Senior Jhamir White added 10 points for the Knights to go with 3 steals and Junior Sammy Singletary  added 9 points with 3 steals!

                         Nia Prep  72               South Kent Prep 59

Ex Paterson and Paterson Catholic native Shaquille Thomas came home and flat out put on a show in his Nia Prep team’s 72 -59 defeat of South Kent Prep! Thomas, a Cincinatti Commit knocked down “triples and made an assortment of acrobatic moves to the bucket, including a few impressive dunks! Thomas(right) finished with 26 points and 6 rebounds in the fast paced contest! 6’3 Kelvin Amayo added 18 points, also throwing down a few power dunks himself! The highlight of the game was a baseline dunk thrown down by 6’6 Deon Maddox, who caught a South Kent player with his hands up! He finished with 12 points and Junior Darrick Wood added 11! South Kent was led by St. John’s Commit Maurice Harkless#4 with 15 points and 7 rebounds, while former Paterson Catholic alum and Rutgers Commit Derrick Randall #20 added 7 points and 8 rebounds!

                  Newark Eastside  50           Paterson Eastside  33

Sophomore Will Joyce(right) scored 16 points and grabbed 14 rebounds and Junior Aaron Bodie added 13 points and 10 rebounds to go along with 5 blocked shots in Newark Eastside’s 50 – 33 win over Paterson Eastside! After a 6 point lead 35 -29 at the end of the 3rd quarter, Newark Eastside outscored Paterson Eastside 15 to 4 in the 4th to pull away! Junior point guard Kassim Chandler added 12 points and 3 steals for Newark Eastside! Paterson Eastside was led in scoring by Junior DeAndre Noble with 15 points and Senior Dave Burgos with 8 points, 4 assists and 2 steals!